1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a ballasted system and method for shielding an area from wind, and more particularly, to at least one or a plurality of ballasted windscreens that may be situated on a support or fence to protect an area from wind and to facilitate reducing or eliminating damage that may occur to the windscreens, supports or the fence to which it is attached.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an outdoor environment, windscreens are commonly used to break up gusting winds, to provide an improved background for a better vision of a ball during a sporting event or practice, such as baseball, tennis, softball and the like, and to minimize distraction for players of sports. Windscreens consist of various woven or otherwise assembled fabrics that can allow approximately 10% to 50% of wind to pass through the material. Prior art windscreens are attached to fence material, usually chain link fences, around the entire perimeter on one side of the fence.
It is well known by sport facilities management personnel (particularly for tennis, baseball, softball and soccer) and by chain link fence construction personnel that after the prior art windscreen is installed, the fence or windscreen can experience wind velocities of 50 mph or more. When sustained wind velocities surpass this threshold, damage to either the windscreen or fence, or both, is almost assured. Damage to the windscreen can cost the replacement of the windscreen and labor. Damage to the fence can cost the replacement of the fence due to the non-repairable nature of the steel pipe posts usually used with the chain link fences when they are bent. The cost of labor is high for both the original installation of the windscreen onto the fence and for the replacement of the windscreen and fence.
At the present time, there is no means, system or method available that allows windscreen that is installed on a fence, such as a chain link fence, to survive high wind velocities (such as sustained winds over 50 mph) or to not damage the fence to which the windscreen is attached, other than by removing the windscreen from the fence prior to the high winds, but this is not practical often times because the winds can be unexpected or sudden, or needed labor is not readily available.
At the present time, the installation of the prior art windscreens requires full attachment around the full perimeter of the windscreen. This is a slow, labor intensive and costly task. If a prior art windscreen is blown off the fence, for example, it requires equally costly reattachment. Another problem with the prior art windscreens is that the procurement of a prior art windscreen typically required the taking of very exacting dimensions and measurements of the fence prior to obtaining the windscreen. This is because the prior art is constructed typically in long segments of windscreen material, typically 60 to 120 feet in length, and they were typically exactly fitted to the fences to which they were attached in order to be fully functional. The custom fabrication and measurements required for the prior art windscreens resulted in very slow delivery times after a user placed an order for the windscreen. For example, a typical delivery time would be 4 to 6 weeks after an order is placed during a peak ordering season, such as February through April.
There is, therefore, a need for a high wind tolerant windscreen apparatus, system and method that is easy to deploy and facilitates protecting the fence or windscreen to which it is attached and facilitates preventing damage to the windscreen and the fence.